STARS
by volian
Summary: Sora contemplates Riku's persona after yet another defeat in swordsplay. Oneshot, gen [RikuSora, if you squint].


STARS  
_fanfic by volly  
kingdom hearts (c) square enix/disney_

...

Parry that arching slash. Dodge that stab. Launch a counterattack...

"Wrong move, Sora."

Riku easily dodged Sora's hasty cut and took advantage of the gap in Sora's usually carefully maintained defensive web. He flicked his wooden blade across Sora's wrist, causing him to drop his weapon.

At Sora's pout of disappointment, however, Riku released his as well. He gave a laugh at Sora's look of astonishment and arched a brow challengingly at his younger friend.

"Try your luck at hand-to-hand, Sora?"

Sora's grin was his only response before the boy tackled him, trying his utmost to force the silver-haired adolescent to the sand.

Riku quickly grasped both of Sora's hands in one of his. Sora's momentum almost drove him down, however, and Riku had to throw out his free arm against the ground, using it as leverage to push back up. He smirked at his adversary, whose face was red with the effort of pushing Riku to the floor.

Upon regaining his composure, Riku took each one of Sora's hands in his own. With a laugh, he gave a sharp shove that sent Sora flying back into the salty water of the ocean and the familiar waves of defeat.

Sora frowned as he stood up, body dripping. He picked at his wet clothes miserably--he really hated the feeling of having his normally-baggy garments sticking to his skin like it did whenever Riku performed his little knock-Sora-in-the-water stunt. He had a feeling Riku did this on purpose, just to make him feel miserable.

Riku blinked at Sora's unusually depressed expression. "Sora? You alright?"

Sora immediately bristled. "Yeah, of course!"

Riku smiled and it was now Sora's turn to blink. Riku had just smiled, not smirked or sneered. This was a rare, but, admittedly, not an impossible occurrence. Sora squinted at his sparring partner, as if trying to unlock Riku's puzzling gesture using just his gaze. "What are you jeering at, you loon?"

"Oh, it's just...you know." Riku waved a hand airily. "Despite me beating you all the time, you never cry. It's curious. Tidus did once."

Sora snorted, attempting to shake water out of his hair. "Why should I? I know I'll beat you one day, I swear!"

Riku gave his companion a pitying look that sneered "dream on, Sora". What came from his lips, however, was "Well, I guess what I'm trying to get at is...thanks for being such a good sport, Sora."

Riku thanking the loser? Sora flinched. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event. "Er. You're welcome?"

An enigma. That was Riku. He was always untouchable, always the best at everything, always cold and condescending and heartless. But perhaps that was why Sora was always drawn to him so. He just wanted to beat Riku, just once...!

What surprised him was the other's tolerance of him so. Many of the Great Riku's challengers engaged him once, twice, maybe three or four times if they were lucky or if Riku was feeling generous. Afterwards, Riku discarded them as one would do a boring toy. After all, they weren't worthy of his attention. Losers never were.

Sora was the exception. After trying countless times trying to overthrow the "King of the Island", he realized how close to the icy Riku he'd gotten. Even when they weren't sparring, Riku actually allowed the smaller teen to tag along with him on his myriad trips to the paopu island. On loose, lazy afternoons or evenings, the two would share a casual conversation. Most of the times, however, Sora was content to just be close to the high-and-mighty swordsmaster. Riku didn't seem to mind--or even notice, for the matter--his brunet stalker hanging overhead on a bough or leaning against the paopu's trunk.

Riku always seemed to hate having people close to him. And yet there was Sora.

Sora could still remember that magical evening of first contact...contact that didn't come through fighting, that is. He had wandered to Riku's island after dinner, wondering whether or not the other youth would be in the mood for one last sword fight before the day was gone.

Apparently Riku wasn't, as Sora discovered when he clambered over the branch Riku was sitting on and was almost immediately pulled into an awkward half-hug. Riku's lanky arm looped around Sora's neck and Riku pulled the chestnut-haired boy closer, so that Sora's sleeved shoulder bounced awkwardly against Riku's bare one and Riku's silky white locks tickled Sora's chin and neck. Sora was just about to shout, to jump up in surprise, to demand an explanation when Riku spoke.

"Look, Sora." Sora looked. At Riku. He was rather annoyed to find that the older teen wasn't even looking at his prone victim.

"Not at me, you snook," Riku added irritably, fixing jade-green eyes at Sora and causing him to stutter in indignation. "Look at the sun."

"What about it?" Sora asked questioningly. Nevertheless, he did as he was told and glanced at the fiery globe, a thin slice of which was just beginning to dip into the enveloping horizon.

"The sun," Riku breathed into Sora's ear. Sora flinched, but Riku didn't seem to notice. If he did, he gave no sign of having done so, and merely continued "it's a powerful thing, isn't it? So bright and beautiful and pure." Here Riku paused, contemplating the sun solemnly. Sora blinked. The sun was already halfway gone. "But it fades. Light is never constant, never reliable, never really as strong as it believes itself to be."

"Sunset is natural, Riku." Sora didn't really like where the conversation was heading. "The sun will always rise again. Darkness is just as undependable as the light."

Riku pondered this a bit, then shrugged. The gesture felt downright odd, as Sora was still held captive against Riku's shoulder. "I guess you're right. But wherever there's light, there's shadow." And with that, Riku's arm released Sora and Riku's body was suddenly absent from the tree branch and Riku's long legs were walking him away, away and back to the town and residents of Destiny Island.

Sora very nearly fell out of the tree when his source of support vanished as suddenly as it did. Quickly picking himself back up, he stared at where Riku was ambling back home, his gait casual and graceful. Half of Sora demanded that he launch himself at the insolent imp immediately and interrogate him. The other half puzzled over Riku's whimsical philosophy and advised to let the other be. Sora mused. As far as he knew, he was the only soul in the islands Riku allowed to be so close. He certainly didn't want to relinquish this treasured position. Sora sighed and settled himself comfortably on the branch, regarding the dark waters of the sea that had consumed the now fully-set sun. Riku's last comment played itself over in Sora's mind. "True as that may be," Sora pondered, letting his gaze drift skywards, "it's nice to know that there're always stars in the darkest nights."

Sora could see why Riku associated himself with darkness so. Riku was always so distant and morbid and generally unlikable. At least, it would seem so to the average onlooker. Sora knew better. Underneath the frosty crust, Riku was just as amiable as the next kid. Or maybe just a little less so.

Riku wasn't a dark person. Just unwilling to let others have the chance to get closer.

"Sora? You there, Sora?"

Sora was sucked unwillingly back into the present. He blinked. "What, Riku?"

Riku's lips were pulled once again into his customary smirk. "You rather zoned out again. I'd half a mind to dunk you back into the water."

Sora scowled and tried to wring out his short hair. "Well, I'm glad you didn't."

"For someone who doesn't like water, Sora, you do seem unwilling to leave it," Riku commented with a chuckle, offering a hand. "Need help?"

His voice was sarcastic but the caring undertone was genuine. Sora looked up into Riku's usual scornful mask, but smiled. He slapped his hand into Riku's and allowed himself to be tugged back to the beach. "Yeah, well, you have an obligation to," he teased, kicking his large shoes against the sand. "Great. Now my clothes are drenched and my shoes'll be all sandy. Thanks a lot, Riku."

He gave an indifferent shrug. "It's your own fault for being such a lousy fighter."

Sora shook his head and the insult. Riku really did believe himself to be cool and tough. Sora knew better. He knew the philosophical Riku, the concerned Riku, the Riku who liked half-hugs while sitting in a paopu tree and wondering about the differences between light and night.

He knew.

"Riku?"

Riku blinked and looked back at him. "Yeah, Sora?"

Sora smiled. "Don't ever change."

...

Hn. Well, welcome to my very first story here. Hope you liked it a bit, sorry if you were disappointed by lack of action. XP

Riku is a bit OOC, I guess, once I look back at it. I won't change, him, though. This is the way he always seemed to me--a bit aloof, rather cold, but friendly enough to Sora. Oh, and if you couldn't tell, this is pre-Kairi, so that's why she's conspicuously absent from everything. I think that maybe I should've thrown Wakka and/or Selphie in here, but I rather liked the way this turned out. All I really wanted to do was explore the relationship between Riku and Sora a bit. They're such interesting little sex-kittens...err, boys.

No, Sora, Riku doesn't throw you into the water to upset you. He does it because he likes to see the clothes sticking to your sexy little body. :D


End file.
